The present invention relates to foldable knifes and more particularly to a foldable knife having a double blade with improved characteristics.
A conventional foldable knife is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. A blade 1 of the knife tends to loosen or even deform after a long period of time of use. As a result, a gap 21 is formed between the parallel blade 1 and a handle 2 of the knife when the blade 1 has been rotated back to the handle 2 to a closed position. Thus, a tight engagement of the received blade 1 and the handle 2 is impossible. In other words, there is no support of the blade 1 by the handle 2 in this position. Also, the hand of a user tends to be hurt by the sharp blade 1 if a sufficient care is not taken while holding, taking or carrying the knife. Further, the blade 1 itself may be damaged as contacting other objects. Furthermore, in a case that the knife is stored together with other objects, a pointed or flat object tends to insert into the gap 21. Such insertion can gradually enlarge the gap 21 as time goes. And in turn, the above loosening or deformation of the blade 1 may be worse. As an end, the possibility of hurting persons by the knife is increased.
For solving the problem of the well known knife, the inventor of the present application had invented a foldable knife having a single blade. Further, a Taiwanese Utility Model Patent No. 154,901 having the same title was granted to the present inventor by IPO (Intellectual Property Office) of Taiwan Government. The utility model patent is shown in FIG. 2. As illustrated, the foldable knife 3 comprises a flat handle 30, a blade 31 pivotably coupled to a forward end of the handle 30, a central opening through the handle 30, and a resilient piece 32 at a resilient piece 32 at a lower side of the handle 30, the resilient piece 32 having an upward slightly curved end so as to possess an elastic force in a bent state. At the curved end, a stop 33 is formed. The stop 33 is engaged with a rear end 311 of the blade 31 when the blade 31 is fully extended. At this time, the blade 31 is locked in an opened position. There is further provided an elongated protective element 34 along an edge of the handle 30. The protective element 34 has a predetermined height sufficient to prevent a cutting edge 312 of the blade 31 from contacting a foreign object when the blade 31 is in its closed position. As such, the protective element 34 can protect the user""s hand (i.e., prevent it from touching the cutting edge 312) while holding, taking, or carrying the knife 3. Further, other objects can also be prevented from contacting the cutting edge 312 when they are stored together with the knife 3. Furthermore, with the provision of the protective element 34, the cutting edge 312 of the blade 31 can be prevented from being damaged by other objects.
It is understood that there is no end of the progress of technology. Also, more people demand high quality, ergonomic, multi-functional, convenient, and personalized products as time evolves. Hence, continuing improvements in the foldable knife are still constantly being sought.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a foldable knife comprising a flat handle and two opposite blades pivotably coupled to forward and rear ends of the handle respectively. The handle includes two resilient pieces on two opposite sides, each resilient piece being capable of being pressed by a hand of a user to fold or resilient piece is urged against a rear end of the blade for locking the blade in a closed or opened position. The knife further comprises a protective element disposed on the handle. The protective element has a height sufficient to prevent the cutting edges of the blades from contacting the hand of the user when the blades are in the closed position. Hence, the protective element can prevent the user""s hand from being hurt by the cutting edges while taking or carrying the knife. Further, other objects can also be protected (i.e., prevent they from being hurt by the cutting edges) when they are stored together with the knife. Furthermore, with the provision of the protective element, the cutting edges itself can be prevented from being damaged by other objects. By utilizing this foldable knife having a double blade, it is possible of overcoming the above drawbacks of the prior art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a foldable knife having a double blade wherein one blade has a sharp cutting edge and the other blade has a series of sharp teeth in its edge. With the variety of cutting edges, the foldable knife of the present invention can be readily adapted to applications.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.